Mushrooms are one of the best foods for supporting your immune system as they have both beta glucans that modulate the immune response and triterpenes that are anti-viral and anti-inflammatory.

This soup is dairy free and gets its creaminess (as well as protein and healthy fats) from cashew nuts. It is super filling so there is no need for bread and is perfect for warming up a winters day. If your immune system is in need of an extra boost, I would recommend adding some reishi powder (found in health food shops) 3-6g in to the soup.

Ingredients:

Serves 2 large portions.

1 tbsp Olive oil

1 Onion

2 sticks Celery

2 cloves Garlic

250g Brown button mushrooms

150g Shiitake

150g Cashew nuts

3 sprigs Thyme

1ltr Water

3 tsp Vegetable bouillon powder/stock

30g Parsley

Sea salt and pepper

Method:

Roughly chop the onions, celery and garlic and place in a large pan with olive oil. Sweat off the oil for 7mins. Add the roughly chopped button and shiitake mushrooms and cook for a further 3 mins. Add in the water, thyme, cashew nuts, bouillon powder and seasoning. Bring to the boil and simmer with lid on for 10mins. Remove the thyme sprigs with a spoon. Add the parsley and blend until smooth.